Village Hidden InBetween
by Rayevolution
Summary: Naruto escorts two new ninja to Konoha. Being stuck in between has more than one meaning! Chapter four posted, Kiba has problems with his temper srsly, who wants to be called a puppy? sorry, short chapter!
1. Chapter 1

The Villiage Hidden In-Between

fanfiction by Raye' Blevins

FYI: Everything copyrighted to their respective owners.

Chapter One:

"Where are we going again, Kakashi-sensei?" Naruto asked, a slight whine in his voice. His normally cheery attitude had been broken by the rather tiring hike that had now lasted two days.

Hatake Kakashi, Uzumaki Naruto, Haruna Sakura, and Hyuuga Hinata were two days west of the Village Hidden in the Leaves. Sent on a B ranked mission, Kakashi had kept the fine details of the mission a secret. All the young jounin knew was that they were to be escorts for someone back to Konoha.

Kakashi looked at Naruto out of the corner of his eye. "Its not safe to talk about yet. Until we get there." He continued walking.

Naruto rolled his eyes and frowned. He hated long, boring hikes. Sakura tended to ignore him, Kakashi was continually reading, and Hinata... well, she could hardly talk to him without choking up. Seriously, what was wrong with that girl?

Sakura kept her thoughts to herself. Something about the secrecy and the fact they were heading into a mountainous region sparked something in her memory from her textbook reading days. There were smaller villages, not recognized as powers by the five nations, that had their own ninjas and blood line limits. It was true, most hidden villages had their secrecy, but in the major power villages there were at least mentions of these smaller settlements. But not along this particular path.

Still, it wouldn't surprise her if that's exactly what they were doing. Going to a hidden village to escort someone important back to Konoha. Sakura sighed inwardly. Any mission like this that involved Naruto was going to end in something dramatic, overblown, and injuries.

Kakashi stopped suddenly. Dusk was falling. Twilight, the time in between day and night was close at hand. The large rock formations around them were growing long shadows.

Naruto bumped into Kakashi's back. "Hey, what's the big idea!?!" Naruto rubbed his nose, which had hit Kakashi's shoulder pretty hard.

"We're here, but we have to hurry. We'll only have a ten minute window to enter the village," Kakashi explained. Motioning with his hand, he started to run swiftly towards a high ridge of rocks. "Hinata, I need you to look and find a difference in the shadows along this rock face."

"Byuukagan!" Hinata's eyes suddenly focused more sharply. The thin lines of veins around her eyes became more visible, and her eyes scanned the rock face. What was Kakashi looking for? A difference in shadows? She really couldn't tell about shadows, her eyes illuminated things...

Then she saw it. A shine in a crevice in the rock.

"There!" She pointed and headed towards it. Kakashi followed Hinata, with Sakura and Naruto in tow.

"Get in there as fast as you can. This entrance is only open for so long to outsiders." Kakashi pushed Hinata through the opening into a tunnel with a dim light at the end. Sakura and Naruto followed. Casting a glance around behind him before entering, Kakashi disappeared after them.

Minutes after they had entered, the twilight faded into night, and the crevice in the rock was no longer there.

--------

"I can barely see!" Naruto complained, walking hunched over. The tunnel was narrow and dark, but dry. A slight breeze wafted through, indicating an opening ahead.

"Because we're practically within a mountain, Naruto," Sakura said with some exasperation. She couldn't see much with Hinata directly ahead of her.

"The opening's just ahead." Hinata announced.

"Man, you know if I could just see then I'd have a nice view," Naruto muttered.

Sakura kicked backwards and Naruto slammed into Kakashi.

"Children, behave. We're almost there and we don't want to make a bad impression," Kakashi said, pushing Naruto off of his legs. They began walking forward again.

"Impression on who?" Naruto wanted to know.

"The people of the Village Hidden In-Between." Kakashi said simply.

"Village Hidden In-Between? In-Between what?" Naruto scratched his head. It didn't make sense.

"Day and night. Several things here are in-between. Like the village is in-between the mountains, the mountains are in-between the sea and the forest. The ninja that come from this village are in-between too." Kakashi paused, knowing he had their attention as they approached the entrance. "Every 50 years or so, we of Konoha escort the potential ninja from this village. These ninja join the Konoha ninja and we help protect the Village Hidden In-Between in exchange."

"What's so special about the ninja In-Between?" Sakura asked, slightly smirking when she said it. It DID sound odd. "There are none in Konoha now, are there?"

"No, there are none in Konoha now. Several returned here, others died in the course of duty. Ninja highly trained in genjutsu are the ones who set up the entrance to be open for those who arrive in-between day and night. They're also the ones who cause this effect here." With those words, the Konoha ninja emereged out of the tunnel on the outside edge of a village set in a basin in the mountain. Though they knew it was night outside of the basin, the whole aura of the village had a feel of sunrise or sunset. Dusk or Dawn.

The Village Hidden In-Between.

"They use the genjutsu to hide their village as well as giving it this year round twilight feeling," Kakashi explained. "Very few ninja come from here because of their blood line limit. It makes them in-between too."

"How so?" Hinata asked. She saw several people shopping, returning home from work, children playing, and friends sharing meals outside.

"Their limit allows those who can handle any kind of jutsu just two elements to control. Usually, for a normal person of In-Between, it is two opposing jutsu, like fire and water. But, though they have tried, they cannot just use one particular style. Any move they use is a combination of the two. Its part of their rules. Thus, when they use the jutsu, its cancels itself out. Sometimes, someone gets lucky and will have a combination such as lightning and water. Like this year. We have two potential ninja here." Kakashi turned and looked at Sakura. "And, just your luck, they are koinichi."

"More girls?" Hinata felt kind of nervous. Girls could be mean.

"Yes. They're definitely different from most of the villagers." Kakashi sighed. "They're supposed to meet us here. We're not to go into the village because we are not In-Between."

Naruto kicked at some of the dirt at his feet. "Who'd want to live here? Its dusk 24 hours a day... who could sleep? You'd never know what time it was!"

"In that way they are also in-between times. They are a unique people and rarely venture outside of this basin. The two we are taking will need help adjusting to day and night, and many other things that are standard in our own world."

"We'll be babysitting? I thought they were going to be ninja!"

"Yes, they've had training from the ninja that returned. When they adjust to our world, they'll be tested to see what kind of level they're at."

"Oh. That makes sense, I guess."

There was a slight pause.

Naruto asked, "What makes them special?"

"Byako and Reita are their names. They have the blood line limit, but it was split oddly between them. They're sisters." Kakashi said, as if that explained everything.

Naruto looked frustrated. They'd all sat down to wait, and Sakura had produced some cold tea from her kit. She had also been listening intensely.

"How oddly was it split? Are their jutsu pairings good instead of canceling each other out?" Sakura asked, handing Hinata some tea.

"Well, their jutsu was combined with something similar to what Kiba's family has, only different. Each girl has a type of guardian entity, you could say. Then they have one style of jutsu each." Kakashi sipped his tea. "This is good, Sakura."

"Thank you, I-" She was cut off as a shadow passed over her. Sakura looked up.

Two girls slightly older than herself and Hinata stood before them. They were twins, in a sense that they were nearly identical in looks, but with different coloring from the other. The girl on the left had a somewhat annoyed expression, with severely short blonde hair with long bangs in front and green eyes. The girl on the right had a gentle expression, and the same short hair and long bangs, but it was black and her eyes were blue.

They had moved up silently enough that everyone except Kakashi was startled.

"Where the hell did you guys come from?" Naruto yelped. He'd also spilled tea on his orange and black jacket. That was definitely frownworthy. "Don't you know its rude to sneak up on people?!"

"We came from the village, stupid," The blonde girl replied.

"We are sorry. Forgive us for startling you," the other said, with a slight bow. "We are ready to leave our home now."

"Good riddance." The blonde muttered.

"Byako and Reita. Your clan names?" Kakashi asked, standing. Sakura gathered her things as the others stood also.

"We don't have them here. Its pointless." the blonde said in a surly tone.

Hinata felt strange. These two were different like night and day. There was nothing "in-between" about them, as Kakashi had implied. Maybe that was what he meant by them being different from the rest of the village. Maybe the village didn't want people who were on completely different ends of the spectrum.

"I see. Well, which is which?" Kakashi asked, crossing his arms. Something about one of them bothered him but he wasn't sure which one it was.

"I'm Byako, and I'm ready to get the hell out of here. I'm tired of living "in-between" everything with their stupid middle-of-the-road ideas and morals. Why couldn't I have been born into a normal village?" Byako, the blonde, suddenly burst into a torrent of words and then stomped off towards the tunnel where the Konoha ninja had entered the village.

Wide eyed, Naruto watched her move. She wore a striped belt with her short black robe, a pale yellow belt with black stripes. Byako had an odd grace, one that was kind of menacing, yet compelled you to watch. He glanced at the other girl, who had to be Reita. She had a similar belt with her short white robe, but hers was a deep black with a blue-ish sheen.

They were such an odd mix of dark and light. How well would they fit in once they arrived in Konoha? Oh wait. That's right. Naruto chuckled inwardly. Every ninja in Konoha is insane.

"I'm Reita. Forgive my sister. She can be hasty with her words," Reita said as she bowed slightly. She too had a similar grace as her sister but Reita was more fluid while Byako was definitely more strength influenced.

"Right. Shall we go?" Kakashi said, turning and heading towards where Byako was waiting rather impatiently.

Naruto and Sakura exchanged glances. This would be interesting.

Kakashi held them slightly back. "Remember, most of these people are in-between. These girls could be, too. Be careful what you say."

-----

"Its beautiful." Byako's eyes were wide, pupils dialating as she experienced a true night for the first time. Reita's face remained passive. Naruto looked up at the sky, following Byako's gaze. What must it be like, always living in-between? They were basic stars on a black sky, pinpoints of light he never really noticed all that much. How could something he considered so insignificant be so amazing to someone else?

Boy was she in for a shock when day came.

"We're going to make camp here, outside of your village. This way you'll be within the usual swing of day and night concepts," Kakashi said, pulling off his pack.

"I don't know about sleeping right now..." Byako said, with a frown. "There's so much I want to see and know."

"There's plenty of time to learn it," Sakura said with a smile, laying a hand on the taller girl's shoulder. Byako turned with a slight growl.

"I'm sure there is." The blonde snorted and sat down with her pack in her lap. She watched Hinata making a fire with intent eyes.

Reita moved to help the Hyuuga girl. Hinata smiled at her, and received a smile back.

"I'm sorry my sister is so rough around the edges. Her life hasn't been easy. She never got along with anybody at home," Reita explained quietly.

"Quit acting like you know I can't hear you." Byako's curt tone reached the two girls.

"I forget we both hear like that. Sometimes its better to keep track of things like that... you never know what you may have to come to realize about some people..." Reita smiled as she said this, but there was a darker look in her eyes that Hinata could not place.

"I understand. Sometimes family..." Hinata spoke gently, "Can be the hardest people you have to deal with." She thought of Neji, and knew that Sakura and Naruto had heard here and were thinking of him too.

"I see you know what I'm talking about!" Reita grinned as she put tinder together in a pyramid shape.

"Need help with that?" Byako was standing right over them, a catlike grin on her face. "This is where I do come in handy, Reita."

"Of course, sister." Reita's grin never wavered.

"Fireball jutsu!" Byako swiftly and deftly went through the hand signs. The kindling leapt to life.

"I see you have a fire jutsu. I thought your jutsu types were combined." Kakashi asked, drawing near from his watching post.

"They are. We just got lucky." Byako said with a smirk. "Our jutsu are influenced by our other...powers, you could say."

"Don't beat around the bush." Reita spoke. "Our other type of jutsu is animal based, I guess... we have our own guardian animal spirits."

Byako was going through hand movements again, her green eyes reflecting the firelight in an odd way. Reita took up similar handsigns. Byako bit on her thumb and the blood welled up. She had finished her hand signs first.

"Guardian Transformation Jutsu..." Byako opened the high neck of her robe. Tattooed across the high part of her chest and collar bones were runes and lettering. She smeared the blood of her thumb down this part of her body. "Tiger Summoning!!"

"Guardian Transformation Jutsu..." Reita had done the same as Byako. "Panther Summoning!"

----

Blah, end, I know. You can find out what this entails next chapter. ...IF I turn up missing I blame Byako for biting off my ears lol.


	2. Chapter 2

The Villiage Hidden In-Between

fanfiction by Raye' Blevins

FYI: Everything copyrighted to their respective owners.

Chapter Two:

Naruto's eyes were bigger than dinner plates. These two girls were now something very otherworldy. Instead of summoning a beast or being from another plane, they had somehow transformed using a summon.

Byako was a blondish version of a husky tiger creature. Reita had the black svelte mystery of a panther to her form.

Sakura got closer to the two. "Do you mind if I feel?" Sakura wanted to see if it was a real physical transformation, instead of an illusionary technique. Tattooed scroll summons were also something slightly new.

"I don't mind at all," Byako literally almost purred. Sakura glanced at the other sister but she hadn't said anything. So Sakura inspected Byako.

The fur was thick, blonde and black striped, and soft. It was real. The ears and tail were real. Byako handled this prodding with a smile on her face that looked more gentle than her human self.

"Want to see the cool part?" Byako offered. Sakura nodded. Physcial change to something this dangerous was a great learning opportunity. She heard a slight grunting noise and turned to see that Reita had released herself from her transformation.

Byako flexed her hand and short curved nails rippled out of her fingers. Her tail whipped slightly. Looking down at Byako's feet, she saw that the girl's toes had also sprouted claws.

"Who put this kind of summoning seal on your bodies?" Kakashi asked, walking around Byako.

"A ninja who visited once who saw we had the afinity for using jutsu that involved animals." Reita said softly. "Oorochimaru-san."

The Konoha ninja stiffened. Was there not a place Oorochimaru hadn't touched? Byako noticed the odd response. With a could of smoke, she released her transformation.

"What is the matter? He had done a good job sealing the spirit properly. He showed us how to use it." Byako explained.

"Do you have any other kind of marks?" Kakashi questioned. "Were you bitten by anything?"

"No." Both girls chorused at once.

'We'll see about that...' Kakashi thought to himself.

"Oorochimaru is the biggest snake in the grass ever made and I mean that literally!!" Naruto blurted.

"You'll both be examined by medic-nin back in Konoha. Its a precautionary measure as well as a health related one. You'll also be seen by the Hokage." Kakashi stated flatly.

Both girls looked startled at this. Byako looked uneasier than Reita. But there was no doubt that both girls looked distressed at this particular bit of news.

In two days, things would get very interesting.

-----

"So they're here now?" Kiba asked, sitting atop Akamaru in a casual manner. Five boys were gathered outside of the medical building in Konoha.

"Yeah. Granny Tsunade wanted to see 'em." Naruto said. They'd gotten back earlier in the day. Their two day journey was over.

"So are they really cat creatures like Hinata said?" Kiba pressed further. Akamaru let loose a slight growl at the mention of the word 'cat'.

"Its really freaky looking. Weird kind of jutsu if you ask me." Naruto said thoughtfully.

"At least they have jutsu..." Lee said, arms crossed, a somewhat sulky expression on his face.

"Bushybrow, shut up. They're weird. End of story," Naruto retorted. Lee made a face back.

"You two are so tiring. Quit acting like juveniles." Shikamaru rolled his eyes towards the sky in an expression of disgust and boredom. "You know that their kind of clan is the amalgam of cast outs from other villages, right?"

"What's an amalgam?" Naruto asked.

"Really? So, potentially, them being contacted by Oorochimaru isn't all that out of left feild." Neji put one hand up to his chin and rubbed his face thoughtfully. "They're descendants of outcasts and criminals. Yet somehow the village has a pact of some sort with them?"

"What's an amalgam?" Naruto pressed again.

"Right. Because a lot of the criminals were potential geniuses when it came to the ninja arts, it was easier to keep their enemies closer by making them their friends." Shikamaru sighed. "On the threat of annihilation, of course."

Naruto began to pout, having been collectively ignored. "What's an amalgam?"

"Then its also safe to assume there may have been grudges held against Konoha or other villages all this time," Neji said thoughtfully. "Grudges that could have been passed down. Or ideals that have been indoctrinated."

"Cat creatures." Kiba was muttering to himself. "Stinkin' cats. Man. What kind of crazy jutsu is that?" Akamaru growled in response. Kiba laughed. "I guess you're right."

"Look who's crazy, dog boy." Naruto grunted back at the taller ninja. "You talk to dogs."

"Quit fighting. So how'd they handle some adjustment to day and night schedule?" Neji asked.

"Byako said that full sunlight almost felt like being burned alive." Naruto grinned. "I guess she found out the meaning of 'sunburn.'"

Kiba laughed.

"I'm not kidding. She was so red, and if anything touched her she howled like a dying rabbit. It was hilarious." Naruto grinned at the memory. He'd been flicking tiny stones at Byako until she caught on in the end and chewed on his ear after tackling him. He was still wearing the bandage. Her teeth were sharp. "Reita was a little smarter about it. She used water to keep herself cool."

"This Reita sounds a little more on top of it than this Byako." Lee said. "Are they cute?"

Naruto's face split into a mischevious grin. "Well..."

"Having a nice discussion boys?" a female voice spoke behind their group.

"Hokage!!!" All five boys snapped to attention, some less gracefully than others.

"I see you're talking about the biggest new thing among the ninja here in Konoha." Tsunade smiled and for a moment looked kind. Then her eyes narrowed. "Stop it, now."

"Yes, ma'am." The five responded.

"The less rumors there are, the easier these two will adjust. Naruto, you'll be part of the squad I assign to watch them."

"WHAT?!" Naruto nearly choked. "You mean I HAVE TO BABYSIT?!"

"Yes." Tsunade walked on into the medical building.

"GOD DAMN IT!!!!"

There was a pause.

"So... what's an amalgam?"

------

"I'm going to do it!"

"You can't! Its not right! Its not the way of our village!"

"Damn the village! Damn their values and rules! I hate not knowing what the hell I am and I'm going to see if someone can fix it!"

Tsunade's eyebrows shot up high into her forehead. These two girls were squabbling like kits in a litter over a bone. Over something quite serious too. Well, she'd find out sooner or later. One of the medic-nin here in the hospital had told her that both girls had refused examinations unless Tsunade had performed them herself. That was odd too. She had no time, really, to be playing nursemaid to a couple of brats.

"Well, I'm not."

"That's your decision..."

Tsunade walked in on Byako walking around the room impatiently while Reita leaned against a hospital bed.

'So this is the blonde one with the temper... sounds so much like a combination of Ino and Naruto.' Tsunade's eyes shifted to Reita. 'And the quiet one. More like Shino or Sasuke. Odd these two would be related.' The serious look never left her face as she assessed the girls. Both pretty, Byako in a boyish way, Reita the more feminine.

"Yuki told me you two had refused a physical examination by anyone except myself. Why is this?"

"We're different." Byako said flatly. Reita glared at her.

"Its an invasion of our privacy, that's what!" Reita's face became even redder under her sunburn.

"Its necessary, all the more so if you have had contact with Oorochimaru." Tsunade crossed the room to stand before Byako. Instead of the defiant reaction she expected, Byako looked down at the floor.

"You know how we come from the Village Hidden In-Between?" Tsunade nodded. "Well, we're in-between too. Its embarrasing, and shameful, and the less people know about it the better." Byako tugged at the top of her robe, and as she did so, the belt around the robe loosened and fell down behind her, yet did not hit the floor.

'So she's tailed, too.' Tsunade thought, but watched as Byako opened her robe.

Byako's breasts were taped down under lengths of white cloth much like bandages. A pair of tight black shorts hugged her hips. But...

"Do many people in your village have hermaphrodism?" Tsunade asked. Byako was still looking away from her eyes, clearly embarrassed. This was a pretty good reason not to let the regular medic-nin check them out.

"Its a very common thing in our village. Basically we can have any partner we wish." Byako said, closing her robe again. "But for the two of us, we ended up being predominately female...except for the extra part." Here she blushed uncontrollably. Clearly she was ashamed of being half male, half female.

"There's nothing wrong with us!" Reita said, her voice low, but carrying some power.

"There's plenty wrong with us! I don't know which I should be sometimes and I'm tired of it!" Byako actually started to cry. She turned to Tsunade. "Can you fix me? I don't want to be like this anymore. I just want to be a GIRL."

"There's a surgery we can do to make you fully a girl, Byako. It can be done for the both of you." Tsunade felt some compassion for the two of them. Being caught in-between more ways than one, and this clearly was the most embarrasing.

"Not for me." Reita said, firmly seating herself on the bed.

"As you choose. Byako, you want to do this?"

The blonde girl nodded. "I've never wanted anything more."

"I know what I am. I'm proud of what I am. If you're not proud, Byako-chan, then you're not really part of me, nor the village!" Reita growled.

"I am not a part of that village! I want to be normal! I love the fact there are defined extremes! Good, bad, day, night, love, hate! I want to be a part of that, feel that, live that!!"

Tsunade watched the heated discussion. They might actually come to blows.

"Oorochimaru poisoned your mind when he taught us. I knew that his descriptions of life outside of our village were lies, and they are, but you choose to believe them!!" Reita's hand flashed out to strike her sister. Byako caught it.

"I think it would be better if the two of your were kept separate from now on. Until you can resolve this, the two of you will end up killing each other." Tsunade walked to the door. "Byako, come with me. I'll show you to a room. Tomorrow, we'll have your surgery. Reita, Kakashi will come soon and assign you to a group to be watched. I don't think either of you are infected or marked in anyway, but your own grudges will have to be taken care of eventually."

----------

Ow. I got tootsie rolls thrown at me while writing this. apparently, making them BOTH was not a part of their own plan and now they wanna kill me.


	3. Chapter 3

The Villiage Hidden In-Between

fanfiction by Raye' Blevins

FYI: Everything copyrighted to their respective owners.

Chapter Three:

Ah, ramen. Nothing like it in the entire world!! Naruto was busy stuffing his face when Sakura and Ino appeared on either side of him. He nearly choked.

"Hey, don't do that!!" He fumed. "That's a waste of good food!!" He started stuffing his face again, eyeing the two girls on either side out of the corner of his eyes. It gave him a particularly shifty suspicious look.

"So... looks like there are going to be two groups of ninja babysitting for the next week or so." Sakura stated, after ordering a cup of black tea.

"Two groups?" Naruto asked, a little more surprised. "You mean I might not have to do this at all?"

"No, you still have to. But apparently after getting them here, the Hokage decided that it would be better to split them up." Ino chimed in, crossing her arms on the counter. For some reason, she smelled really nice today... Naruto mentally hit himself in the forehead. Nope! No thoughts like that about Ino, no way, no sir!!

"Aw man. I was hoping the escort service was going to be it." Naruto pouted into his bowl.

"Don't fret, Naruto. Your 'tour of duty,' if you may call it that, doesn't start for two more days." Ino said, with a shrug of her shoulders. "Apparently, the blonde sister needed some kind of emergency surgery."

"She looked fine to me. No health problems except for a sunburn." Naruto said with a grin.

Sakura pinched him on the ear that had been bitten. He yelped in surprise and pain.

"Hey, I saw you annoying the crap out of her. I'm surprised she didn't go crazy-kung-fu-cat-ninja on your ass." Sakura sipped her tea. Sakura was becoming something of a hot tea nut lately, wasn't she? Naruto shook his head. He was really convinced he might have a really, really bad case of ADD in his old age of seventeen.

"Well, no one can be Naruto Uzumaki!! I am the best!!" Naruto gave himself a double thumbs up.

"We know. Number one hyperactive knucklehead ninja." Ino and Sakura spoke at once.

"So do either of you have anyone you're assigned to?" Naruto asked, around a mouthful of noodles.

"Reita." Sakura said with a sigh. "You, Kiba, and Hinata were assigned to Byako. Myself, Ino, and Shikamaru were assigned to Reita. We're supposed to go pick her up in an hour." Sakura looked at the clock on the wall. "Somehow, I think we might have the easier time of it. Byako looks like a handful and sounds just about as fun. She has the personality of a caffiene injected porcupine."

"Wait... they assigned dog boy to a cat girl?" Naruto nearly choked again. This was not his night. "Why would Granny Tsunade do something dumb like that? They'll kill each other!!"

"I think she was hoping for a more... effective solution. Wearing down the energy that both of them has. Kiba and Akamaru have been chasing quite a few girls around town. Akamaru has been looking for a mate and Kiba's been picking up on that." Ino sighed. "The Hokage thinks fighting with Byako might distract the two for a while. We don't want any litters or babies popping up around the village in a few months time."

"And Byako dealing with Kiba might take the edge off her rough side, maybe wear her out some." Sakura added. "Though, you'd think that to do that they just might get Kiba to spar with Lee."

"True. Sticking a dogboy with a cat girl could lead to loss of limbs and... fur..." Ino giggled.

Naruto finished his ramen and slammed down his bowl. "Kay, I'm tired of the gossip. I'm goin'. See you girls later." Naruto sauntered off.

"Naruto has gotten cute in the last two years, hasn't he?" Ino said, looking after him.

"Maybe. But he's gotten twice as perverted in that amount of time as well." Sakura said, draining her glass of tea.

---------

Naruto paused outside of the door. Yuki had told him which room Byako was staying in but he wasn't sure why he was here. 'I guess maybe I'm here because she could be lonely. She IS separated from her sister after all. Away from her home...' Naruto found himself occupied by his thoughts, a thing that didn't happen all too often. He was pretty lucky to have friends, a home, people who cared about him, and a life he loved.

He heard a noise behind the door and assumed she was awake. So, Naruto opened the door and waltzed right in.

Naruto's eyes nearly popped out of his head. He blushed and ran out the door, shouting, "SORRY SORRY SORRY SORRY!"

He leaned up against the closed door at his back. He'd walked right in on her undressing. Well, he'd only seen her from behind, but still, it was more than he was used to. Wait a second...

SHE HAD A _TAIL_!

That's when his nose began to bleed. And that was how Kakashi and Yuki found him up against the wall with a paper towel pressed to his nose.

-------

"Reita?" Kakashi spoke the girl's name as he entered her room. She was sitting on her bed, her legs crossed, looking at her lap.

"Yes?" She looked up, blue eyes sparkling with unshed tears.

"Are you ready to go?" Kakashi stood near her bed, hands in his pockets.

"Yes." She stood. She picked up a length of cloth from the bed. Her tail, which had been wrapped around her waist, uncurled and lowered, hanging down behind her. She tied off her robe at the waist with the length of cloth.

"I see. Your jutsu has left a permanent mark upon your physical appearance." Kakashi commented as she did this.

"Yes. Its one of our drawbacks." Reita sighed. "I am not going to hide it anymore. I am proud of what I am."

"Well, you'll be staying in the company of Sakura, Shikamaru, and Ino. I think those three will be a nice mix for you to get used to life in Konoha." Kakashi said, opening the door for her.

"I don't really want to get used to life here. I want to train and go home." Reita said, walking past him.

"Life here isn't that bad. And having ninja here from your village would strengthen the relationship between us." He walked next to her, on the way down the hall, towards the exit of the medical facility.

"I really don't care about that," Reita said, not looking at him. "My sister can stay here."

"I see. There has always been a lot of tension between the two of you, hasn't there?" Kakashi guessed.

"Yes. We are different, like night and day. I love our home, our village. She hates it with a passion rarely seen from our people. It always saddened our father that his firstborn hated the place she was from." Reita pushed on the door leading to the outside. "I love her too, but I hate what she does, what she wants to become." She squinted unusually hard in the sunlight, and crossed her arms. Her tail twitched in an agitated manner.

"In every family, there are usually dissenting factions. Not everyone is the same. Most likely she will stay here and you will go back home. In a way, it may be good for the both of you." Kakashi stopped in front of the group of three that were gathered at the bottom of the steps in front of the medical facility.

"This is Ino, Sakura, and Shikamaru." Kakashi pointed to each jounin in return. They waved, Shikamaru a little less enthused than the others. Okay, maybe a lot less enthused.

"You'll be staying with them for the next couple of weeks, probably alternately with Ino and Sakura. You'll probably be able to get some training in, as well as seeing our village and learning some things about our way of living." Kakashi said, bowed slightly, and walked away.

"So, would you like to tour our village?" Sakura asked, pasting on her biggest smile.

"No, Sakura-chan, first we need to do something about her sunburn. And then her clothes! She dresses like a boy!" Ino grabbed Reita by the arm and dragged her along down the street, talking about a mile a minute.

"Uh, Sakura?" Shikamaru asked, his voice high with uncertainty or disbelief, she really couldn't tell.

"What?" She watched Ino pull Reita into a small shop, the tip of Reita's black tail disappearing through the doorway.

"She has a tail?" Shikamaru's face was somewhat blank.

"Yeah. I guess she does."

"So much for blending in."

"C'mon, lets go. We can't leave Reita in Ino's mercy for long. She'll end up killing herself." Sakura nudged Shikamaru and they began to walk after their friend and their charge. "Or she'll kill Ino. One or the other."

"I vote for the second one." Shikamaru said, with a lazy grin.

"You are incorrigible."

"Hey, nice word."

"Asshat."

"Its nice to know your vocabulary is improving, Sakura."

"My punch is even better."

"Truce."

"Deal... Asshat."

-----------

_Two days later_

Byako looked in the mirror. The bandags and stitches were still there, but... there was no bulge. She turned this way and that, her face plastered with a smile that seemed permanent.

Tsunade watched the girl. It had been a tricky procedure, and long. Byako had been asleep for nearly a day and a half. This was the first time she'd seen herself since the surgery. There was still a healing procedure to go through.

The funny thing was, Naruto kept coming in to check on her. He'd come in, sit with her for a while, ask a few questions, and then go about his business. Come back in a few hours. He still knew nothing about the surgery, except that it was important. Tsunade had made sure no one knew about the girls' condition. That would be something they had to reveal themselves.

"All right. Enough walking around. We don't want the stitches to open up before we've performed the healing jutsu on you." Tsunade ordered Byako back into the bed.

"Thank you. I can never thank you enough, Hokage."

"I think maybe you needed a break once in your life. You had a dream, a relatively simple one. Its good to see those dreams fulfilled when possible." Tsunade tapped on Byako's shoulder, turning the girl onto her back. She lifted the bandages that covered her waist and hips. "You're healing nicely. Somehow, your guardian helps your body as well. Am I right?"

"I think so. Reita and I never suffered from long term injuries. We always healed quickly." Byako was still smiling. "It might be they want to protect their host."

"That could be true. Naruto is the same way." Tsunade began to chanel chakra through her hands, moving the lines of healing energy through her hands over the incisions made in the girl's skin. There would be scarring, but she wouldn't be partially male anymore. Just a girl.

"Really?" Byako winced a little bit as the healing process tingled.

"Ask him about it sometime." Tsunade wasn't usually this gentle. "In fact, while you're here, you should ask many of the ninja about their personal stories. They have..."

Byako had fallen asleep.

"Brat. Oh well. She'll heal well. Another day and she'll be able to get out of here. I've spent way too much time with these little twerps anyway." Tsunade covered the newly healed wounds with a fresh bandage and left the medical facility.

--------

Naruto paid for the lillies in his hand. The vender looked at the huge grin on the blonde boy's face and smiled back.

"For someone special?" she asked.

"For someone in the hospital." He replied and walked on.

Moments later he knocked on Byako's room door. Somehow, over the last two days, being around her even though she wasn't awake, he had an affinity for her. She had a guardian spirit, somewhat like his fox, but it was only a guardian and not a significant demon. But she was very similar to him in many respects. Maybe that was why he liked her.

"Come in."

Naruto walked into her room, hands behind his back. "You're finally awake!"

"I know. I'm so happy!" She grinned at him. A genuine smile really changed her looks.

"I guess you're a lot better." Naruto came close to her bed. It struck him how empty the room was. No cards, no flowers, nothing from home, nothing from her sister. Maybe getting her flowers was the right thing to do. "I brought you these!" With a flourish, he pulled them out from behind his back.

Byako's face turned pink. Her face had healed from the sunburn so the color was definitely all her own emotions. "They're lovely."

"I thought they'd make you happy."

"They do. I've never recieved flowers before." She held them in her hands. She looked up at the blonde ninja in front of her. "Hokage said you had visited me several times while I was sleeping. That's very sweet. You don't know me, yet you care."

"Hey, we got to know each other a little on the hike back to Konoha!" Naruto said, sitting in a chair next to her bed.

"Yes. Your ear had close personal contact with my teeth!" Byako said playfully. "Because you were throwing rocks at my sunburn!"

"I learned you don't do so well in the sun. Maybe I should have brought you sunscreen instead," Naruto laughed. His ear was healed by now, no longer needed the bandages and had no marks from the incident. The sudden thought of her mouth on his ear made him warm up considerably. He mentally slapped himself. Gods, every girl he saw suddenly became part of his fantasies.

"I love the sun though. It may burn, but it shines! I love how dusk is only ten to twenty minutes long." She looked out the window and her eyes closed, slowly. "I want to see the sun rise, too. Some morning..."

"Naruto?" a soft voice came from behind him. He turned, and saw Hinata standing there. In her hands, she held a stuffed tiger. She blushed and smiled. "I heard you were here. Shino said he saw you buying flowers. I figured they were for her. So I brought her something too."

Standing in the sunlight, her light violet eyes lowered, Naruto watched her for a moment suddenly understood. Internally, he knew that the way he was acting around girls was because he was attracted to them. So he'd feel awkward, stammer, and blush if he couldn't control it. That's what it had been all this time. Hinata was attracted to him.

"Yeah. I dunno. I feel like she could be, like, my sister or something, you know?" Naruto grinned at Hinata. "She fell asleep talking about sunrise." He knew he was attracted to her as well.

"Sleeping again? I learned from Sakura that sleeping is part of the body's healing defense. She must really be re-energizing to sleep so much." Hinata held out the tiger to Naruto. "I brought her a friend! I hope she likes it." If he wanted to give the gift to the girl he liked, then he could. There was really no ignoring the attention he'd been paying to Byako.

"Its great, Hinata." Naruto stepped away from the bed. "You should give it to her yourself." He held out one hand in Byako's direction. Hinata could see similarities in the way they held themselves, even though Byako was asleep.

Hinata blushed with Naruto's eyes upon her. Leaning over, she gently set the stuffed tiger in Byako's arms. "You said she talked about sunrise. She wants to see one?"

"Yeah. Kind of an odd request, isn't it?"

"After seeing where they lived, I don't think so. We should give it to her, Naruto." Hinata gave him a pleading look. "I know Kiba isn't happy about having to be around her, but... I like her."

"C'mon. Let's let her sleep." Naruto took Hinata by the hand. "We'll give her a sunrise sometime. First... would you like to have tea with me?"

"Yes. I'd like that a lot."

---------

k, I'm a dork, I've posted two chapters today. I just like this story. When I started writing it in my head, I found different aspects of the characters personalities I could explore. Specially with them all being a little older than the Shippuden series.


	4. Chapter 4

The Villiage Hidden In-Between

fanfiction by Raye' Blevins

FYI: Everything copyrighted to their respective owners.

Chapter Four:

"Reita, you look fabulous!!!" Ino gushed. Reita's eyebrow lifted somewhat in contest with that, but she accepted it. The pants, vest and shirt were more to Reita's liking anyway. Plus, the salve Ino had given her to use for the past two days was working wonders. Her skin was no longer pinker than shrimp.

"I'll admit, she looks more like one of us than an outsider." Sakura had to agree. Ino had some good taste...when it came to picking out other people's clothes. For herself... sometimes Ino went to the extreme. Still, it wasn't a lie that Ino was popular with the boys. Sakura made a face inwardly. There was also talk Ino wasn't a virgin anymore. But nobody said with who.

"Except for the tail, Sakura." Shikamaru pointed out. The four of them were sitting in a restaurant, waiting for their orders to come to the table. "That kind of points her out to be something new."

"Yeah, but I got her to tie a cute bow around it!" Ino said. "It makes it look more like an accessory."

"You okay, Reita?" Shikamaru noticed the dark haired girl looking extremely sleepy.

"I don't know why I'm so tired. I was never like this at home." She looked troubled.

"I think its because your guardian is responding to a day to night schedule. Don't most big cats sleep 16 hours a day?" Shikamaru pointed out.

"I think so." Sakura agreed.

"But I don't want that!" Reita pouted.

"We shal l have to introduce you to a thing we call caffiene," Ino announced. "HEY!!!" Ino called over the waiter. "We'd like some coffee." The waiter nodded and returned shortly.

"What's coffee?" Reita asked, her nose wrinkling slightly. The steaming cup in front of her was not evil in any way, but she eyed it, it could have been a bomb.

"Its a warm drink that keeps people up and awake!" Ino said cheerily.

"I don't know. What kind of effect caffiene has on someone like her, I don't know." Shikamaru mused.

"I'm NOT some kind of science project!!!" Reita sputtered, and then gulped down the coffee. Her eyes got huge.

And she spit a large amount of hot coffee in Shikamaru's face.

"Iths haaaht!" Reita waved a hand at her open mouth, trying to cool it.

"I heard coffee was good for the skin." Sakura said, her voice wavering, trying not to laugh. Ino wasn't trying to hide it at all. Shikamaru just glared at them.

Shikamaru just said, "I'm sure we make one hell of a Kodak moment. I hate my life."

-----------

The same day after getting out of the hospital, Byako asked Hinata and Naruto to train her. They agreed.

Four hours later, the three of them lay on the grass in the sunset, breathing hard.

"That was great." Byako practically purred.

"I haven't worked that long in I don't know when." Hinata breathed. She was tired, but it was a good tired.

"I'm ready for food and bed." Naruto announced. He'd seen more of Byako's jutsu. She knew very little actually. No transformation except the tiger summoning, a few fire style jutsu, and that was it. No substitution, no shadow clone, nothing basic young ninja learned for survival.

Yet the summoning transformation awakened instinct inside of Byako that made her move in ways that amazed him. Though she had pale yellow fur with black stripes, she blended in where the sunlight and shade patterns were the most varied. Flawed was her eyesight in that she could see moving objects more clearly than stationary objects. Neither Hinata nor Naruto could move quickly enough that she couldn't catch the movement with her eyes even if she couldn't catch the move physically. Even falling, she landed on her feet.

"You have great training ideas." Byako said. Laying in the sun made her slightly sleepy.

"We need to work on your chakra control." Naruto said, rolling over in the grass.

"We need to work on a lot of things. You guys kicked my ass." But Byako smiled as she said it.

"I think anyone could kick your ass." a voice came from above them.

"Kiba!" Hinata sat bolt upright and found herself nose to nose with Akamaru. The big dog licked her face.

"That's not true, and you know it. I'm just untrained." Byako spat back, the hair on the back of her neck rising. This one made her feel uneasy.

"No kidding. I was watching." Kiba sneered. Sure, she was cute, but she was a cat. "I've seen genin with more talent than you."

"That's what training is for." Byako retorted, standing up and drawing nearer to him. "To build up skills and hone talents." She crossed her arms and stood with feet apart, a challenging stance if there ever was one.

"Everyone knows cats are lazy and selfish."

"And dogs do whatever their masters tell them. Who's your master, puppy boy?"

"No one." Kiba growled. "We work together. No one is our master! Cats are nothing but loners and insubordinates! Worthless to anyone but themselves!"

"I am not worthless. And for a fact, a cat is not all that I am. And you sound like nothing but a pet." Byako taunted, her eyes narrowing.

"I AM NOT A PET!!!" Kiba roared, and he launched himself off of Akamaru's back, poised to attack Byako.

------

Short chapter. I'm tired. going to go to sleep now! 3


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